Behind the fire
by Bluelionessproductions
Summary: It's the 74th annual Hunger Games and Emmitt Radford from district three has been unlucky enough to get chosen. With a cold partner and lethal careers, Emmitt has little hope of winning. However, he and his new found friends from other districts have the confidence to win. Will they succeed or will their plans all burn away?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N-Hello everyone! I'm thebluelioness with a hunger games fic for you! This story has been in the works for 3 years now and I'm finally ready to publish it! I'm still currently writing it, but i'm far enough ahead to start posting. I hope you all enjoy it! I do not own the hunger games.**

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 **Chapter One: The Reaping**

 _"We have met our first victim of the hunger games, ladies and gentlemen; and it looks like he's caught in a fire!"_

 _Fire. It's all around me. I can't see anything but red flames that are swallowing me whole. I can barely breath, my head goes fuzzy and I start to black out. Just before everything goes black, out of the fire comes a creature; a fox._

"Gah!"

I shot up in a cold sweat and looked around in the dark of my bedroom, nothing. I sighed as I wiped away the sweat from my forehead, a bad dream…one that might come true. Today was the reaping here in district 3 the day everyone dreads each year. I reluctantly swung my legs over my bed and stumbled over to my dresser. Everyone is pretty well off in district 3, not as well as one or two, but we're not starving like the outer districts. As I get dressed in some of my nicer clothing as I let my gaze wander over at my desk that was covered in tools, blueprints, and wires from an old vacuum I was rewiring, I grinned. Since district 3 was the technology district, most everyone has to be handy with electronics and high tech machinery, but I had always had a fascination with that kind of stuff. I was at the top of my class and I could fix and re-program just about anything. I wished my dad could see me now. My father died in an accident when I was five, we were really close. I shook the memory from my head and made my way downstairs to greet my mom.

"Hi, mom, how are you?"

My mom turned around, a sad smile plastered on her face,

"Hi, sweetie. I'm okay, just a bit nervous for today, that's all," she said in a small voice.

I could tell she had been crying, her eyes were still red and puffy and she was sniffling slightly. I smiled a little and helped her make the rest of breakfast. We ate in silence, a gloomy, depressing silence that usually makes you feel worse about a situation. As we finished and started cleaning up, my mom planted a small kiss on the top of my head. I smiled,

"Don't worry, mom. They won't pick me," I said softly.

My mother stiffened a bit and breathed out slowly. She turned to me and smiled slowly.

"Let's hope so, Emmitt," she said wiping away tear that had fallen.

I looked at the floor as I felt my own tears form in my eyes. The thought that I could be chosen crept into my mind. I shivered at the thought of going into the hunger games. I'm only fourteen years old; I haven't even asked a girl out yet. I couldn't possibly win some stupid game! As if thinking about the games wasn't bad enough, the blaring sound of a horn rang out. My mother and I looked in the direction of the noise; she looked at me,

"Let's go, sweetie."

We walked over to the reaping place, my hand held tightly in her's. I'm by no means a momma's boy or a wimp, but I just get so scared that I feel like a five year old again, it's dumb, but there's the possibility that I'm going to die. I check in and go over to stand with the other boys in my age group. Soon, Riverta Bailytin comes up in stage in front of the hall of justice. Riverta has always reaped district three for as long as I could remember. She has ridiculously long, light blue hair and dark skin. She would be quite pretty if it weren't for here absolutely insane gold makeup and outfit. She looked like a walking feather dusted, with her large hat that had a long, majestic bird's feather and dress that was also made from the exotic feathers. She soon spoke,

"Hello everyone!" she said in her usual peppy yet shrill voice, "Happy hunger games and may the odds be ever in your favor!" she beamed at the crowd.

I sighed, how could someone be happy about a child killing spree? It was madness, the whole idea. After her introduction we watched the same cringe-worthy video that reminds us why we play this damn game, the rebellion. As the video ended, it was time to pick the tributes; I trembled as she announced this.

"The lady's first!" she said cheerfully and she trotted over to the bowl of name slips and plucked one out and proceeded to trot back to the mic. Everything was silent; you could hear a pin drop. She opened the folded piece of paper and said the name on paper of the horribly unlucky female tribute.

"Felicity Carriedon!" Silent whispers started as Felicity made her way up to the stage. She was a year younger than me and was quiet and had zero interest in technology. She looked terrified as she stood there.

'poor girl… nobody deserves this…" I thought to myself.

"Now, for the boys!" Riverta smiled.

My stomach lurched and I broke into a sweat. I was silent again as she walked over to the other bowl, but this time, everything seemed to be in slow motion. She again picked out another name and went back to her spot on stage. As she unfolded the small sheet of paper, I felt incredibly nauseous and lightheaded,

'Stop being ridiculous, Emmitt, it's not going to be you! What are the chances! Seriously, nothing will happen to you!' I thought to myself as she called out the name of the male tribute.

" _Emmitt Radford!"_

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 **Ya'll like it so far? I hope so! Leave a review! The next chapter will be up soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! Here's chapter two! Hope you guys like it!**

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 **Chapter two: The train-ride**

It took a minute to process what just happened. My eyes had grown wide as I realized that I had been called. I slowly let out a whisper,

"Oh no…"

"Come on up, Emmitt! Where are you, dear?"

I started to walk up to the stage in a complete daze. I turned my head around and spotted my mother crying. When I walked up on stage and shook hands with Felicity and was swiftly taken away into the hall of justice. I sat in silence as everything started to sink in, I was going into the hunger games… I was going to die. I was taken back to reality when the door opened which revealed my mother. I rushed over to her and we embraced for a long while. After a minute of silence, we broke apart and she said firmly,

"Emmitt, listen, I love you so much and I am so proud of you, I believe that if you try your best and use those brains that your father gave you, you could win! District three is more knowledgeable and advanced that any other district and that's because of people like you, Emmitt."

I stared at her and then said,

"I-I'll try my best, mom. I love you."

She smile and pulled me into another hug that we stayed in until a peacekeeper came in and ripped us apart. Before I knew it, I was alone again and for the first time, I cried. I sat there sobbing my eyes out until I was once again pulled away into carriage with Riverta and Felicity that brought us to a train. As we boarded, I got a good look at the crowd of people looking at us; looks of pity and sorrow were visible in every single of their faces. I wanted to see I could find any face that looked somewhat hopeful, but I was rushed onto the train. Inside the train was absolutely stunning, high quality…everything. From the furniture to the place mats and the food looked magnificent, I was truly amazed. Riverta sat us down in two chairs beside each other while she sat opposite to us.

"Now, I know that you two are both very nervous but don't fret! Being in these games is a great honor!

I sat there staring at Riverta; I didn't know what to say to her.

"I'm going to go get your mentors! Be back in a jiffy!" Riverta said and scurried off to another part of the train.

I watched as she trotted off into the back of the train. I shook my head in disbelief; she was really excited for all of this, wasn't she? I looked over to Felicity; she was staring off into space. I really didn't feel like talking, but I've always been polite and kind to others and I couldn't help myself.

"Hey, you okay?" I said softly.

She looked over at me, "What do you think? We're going to be dead in a few days and never see our families again, but don't worry, I feel just PERFECT!" she said harshly.

I stared at her quietly. I had already recoiled back in shock and started to sink back into my chair. She didn't have the right to be nasty to me; I'm in the same position she is in and I hadn't said anything horrible. At that moment I wanted to call her out on being a complete ass, but all that came out was in a tiny agitated whisper,

"Excuse _me…_ "

"You two aren't arguing are you?" a voice said with a slight chuckle in it.

We both turned around to see out mentors, Beetee and Wiress. My eyes widened. I had admired Beetee for a number of years now; he was an expert mechanic and a genius in general. I hadn't noticed a grin had grown on my face as Beetee sat across from me.

"I never saw someone smile when going into the hunger games before," Beetee grinned.

I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment, I chuckled awkwardly at him,

"Sorry."

"What's wrong with you? Are you excited to die?" Felicity asked sharply.

I glared at her; I could already tell that we were not going to get along at all. I stared back at Beetee and Wiress and spoke,

"So…what now? Do you both mentor us, or do we both get mentored individually?"

"Well that depends, do you two want to trained together or apart?" Beetee asked.

"Apart!" Felicity and I shouted at the same time.

We both looked at each other as Wiress giggled and Beetee grinned. At least we both think alike...sort of.

"Will in this case, Wiress will mentor you," he gestured to Felicity, "and I shall mentor you, son," Beetee looked at me.

I began to smile again; my idol was going to train me to go into the hunger games! The idea that I might have a chance to win now excited me.

"Great! When do we start, sir?" I asked a bit too happy.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Felicity asked once again.

I shot her another glare and was about to say something back before Wiress tapped me and shook her head, smiling. I think she knew why I was happy, but she didn't say anything. Riverta then came back in and announced it was time to eat dinner. I hadn't realized it had gotten so late. The five of us when into the dining car and sat down. I took a seat next to Wiress, I knew that Felicity was ticked that she didn't get Beetee, but Wiress was cheerful and optimistic, she was alright.

"So, what are your names? I do not think you told us back there," Beetee asked Felicity and I.

"My name is Emmitt Radford, sir," I said politely.

"I'm Felicity," she said in a bored and dull tone.

I rolled my eyes at her; doesn't she have any manners or at least kindness? I began to eat my food, it was really good. My mind wandered to the other outer districts that don't have good food like the first few districts, I bet they really are enjoying this. Soon enough, my plate was almost empty. As I was finishing off the last of my salmon, Riverta turned to me,

"So, are you two excited? I bet when one of you two win everyone back home will be ecstatic!" she said excitedly.

I stopped chewing and looked at her. I swallowed hard,

"Umm… y-yeah sure, I am." I said looking at the floor.

"What's wrong? I thought you were so excited to go die in the hunger game, Emmitt." Felicity said coldly as she stared daggers at Emmitt.

Everyone stared at her, I was dumbfounded. What had I done to her?

"Pardon me?" I asked a bit confused.

Beetee stood up abruptly and stated it was a good time to go to bed, Riverta smiled and agreed. I silently thanked Beetee for doing this. I walked into the bathroom and washed up. I started to walk to my room, but not before running into Felicity. I didn't look at her as I passed her, hoping that she ignored me… I wasn't that lucky.

"You didn't answer my question back at dinner," I stopped walking, "I thought you were _so_ excited to die in the hunger games!"

"What is your problem!?" I shouted at her, "I never said I was excited, you're just pissed that Beetee is training me and not you! I'm not going to die either!"

She scoffed at me, "Yes, we both are! Those careers and going murder us, Emmitt! Can't you get that through your thick head?"

I inhaled and continued to argue, "Why are so negative about this situation?"

"Why are you so _positive_?"

"Because I think that we, no, I could win this thing and I could go see my mother again!"

She shook her head, "No, you are going to die and never, ever see your mother again!" she said coldly and quietly.

At this point tears were starting to form in my eyes. I turned and ran off to my room and slammed my door. I collapsed in the middle of my room and cried at Felicity's harsh words repeating themselves inside my head.

'What is wrong with her?' I thought, 'what's wrong with me? I'm acting like a child!'

What happened next is somewhat of a blur, I snapped and started to destroy my surrounding, letting out my anger on innocent chairs and décor. Then a hand on my shoulder snapped me out of my rampage, I looked back to see Beetee, I instantly clung to him and cried more.

"Emmitt, don't cry, listen to me for a moment,"

I picked my head up and looked at him.

"I believe that you can win, I really do. The way for you to win is simple, do you know how?"

I shook my head.

He bent down a bit, "Keep your calm and use your brains that your father gave you."

I was taken aback by this, my father? How did he know about my father?

"What? How did you know about my dad?" I asked.

He smiled a bit, "Because your father and I were best friends."

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 **The story continues on! Stay tuned for chapter 3!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, everyone! Thebluelioness back with chapter 3! Hope you like it!**

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 **Chapter 3: Help me?**

The next morning Beetee and I were chatting away at breakfast, talking about survival strategies, rewiring techniques, and other useful information. He had interesting information, like sponsors were the best way to stay alive and that there were mines right around the cornucopia.

"So how do you get sponsors, Beetee?" I asked curiously.

"Well, you have to appeal to the audience, make them like you, root for you," he said while buttering a piece of bread.

"Well in that case, no one will sponsor you, Emmitt," Felicity said nastily.

"Well if I can't, then you have a better chance of growing wings and flying off than getting sponsors," I said smiling.

Felicity scowled at me and continued to eat her breakfast. Just then, Riverta ran in and said we were at the capitol. Felicity and I both rushed to the window to see the capitol. It was enormous, the biggest city ever created. In a minute, we are greeted with cheering fans. Felicity and I look at each other,

"What do we do?" she asked, surprisingly genuine.

"Umm, Beetee?" I ask a bit scared.

He nodded towards me, "You know what to do," he said then returning to his breakfast.

I stared at him and his words began to form in my head, ' _use those brains your father gave you…"_ I looked back to Felicity,

"There our fans, so let's greet them,"

"What?" she asks.

"Wave, Felicity, wave to them," I say simply.

We both begin to wave to the crowd, they cheer louder as we do. As the crowd grows smaller, the train comes to a stop. We are then rushed off and are taken to a spa sort of place. I see some other tributes while we enter the building. One of them is a boy around my age with red curly hair and freckles. He spots me staring at him; I give him a small smile and wave. Surprisingly, he smiles back. My smile grew wider, half because he smiled back and half because I already like him more than Felicity and I hadn't even spoken to him. We were then put on tables and scrubbed down; it wasn't pleasant to put it lightly. After about an hour of being scrubbed and cleaned, I was put into an empty room, completely naked. At that point I was feeling very uneasy; why was I in this room completely nude? As I was thinking, someone entered the room.

"No don't come in! I-I'm not decent, get out!" I shouted while panicking.

"Calm down, dear. I'm Elusive, your fashion designer," he said.

I looked at him, having to crane my neck due to his height. He was a rather tall, lanky man. Purple curls fell on his slim face neatly; Not a single thing about him was out of place.

"Okay, but why are you here?" I asked, feeling a bit agitated.

He chuckled and handed me a bath robe which I put on quickly. He pulled up a chair and sat down.

"It's my job to dress you and your friend to represent district three for the chariot ride, do you know what I mean?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, last year it was like robots almost, right?" I ask.

"Right! But this year, I'm going to top it and you two will shine!"

I smiled, I was kind of interested what they were going to dress us in, I thought it was pretty cool last year and I couldn't wait to see what it was this year. I was less than impressed when I tried the actual outfit on; it was ridiculous. Both Felicity and I were horrified at how we looked, but of course Elusive and Riverta gushed at how amazing we both looked.

"Do we really have to wear this, Beetee?" I whined.

"Unfortunately, you do" he laughed.

"We look ridiculous!" I stressed. Felicity agreed,

"Yeah, come on!"

"Sorry, children, but no changing Elusive's mind. Plus, it's time to go in a few minutes."

We watched the other tributes come in. Some look nice, some look dumber than us. Soon, all the tributes were in the room, getting ready for the ride to show ourselves off to the world and ruin our self-esteems forever. I look back at district four's chariot and I see that red headed boy again, he sees me too and smiled. I mouthed, 'Help me!' to him and he laughed, clearly and genuinely amused at my joke. That maked me feel a bit better, well until Elusive spoke up.

"Okay, children, get on up!" he said excitedly.

Me and Felicity groaned and stepped up on the chariot.

"Don't forget to smile and wave!" Riverta said cheerfully.

I nodded my head, so does Felicity and then the gates opened and we went forward. We were out and the crowd begins cheering. I started waving; this is a way to get sponsors and sponsors means a better chance of winning, so I waved and smiled as wide as I could. After a minute, for some reason the crowd goes wild, I looked around to see what happened and my eye catches a screen that shows district twelve. Usually, district twelve is nothing special, but this year they were on fire, literally. My scientific mind began to race; how is this happening without them getting burned?

"Do you see them?" Felicity asked me.

I know exactly who she's talking about, whom else would it be?

"Yeah, and I don't know how they're doing it."

We all come to a stop shortly after me noticing district twelve. When we come to a stop, the fire goes out on twelve's backs. Then it hit me, the fire wasn't not real. Smart, very smart; whoever thought of that idea must've be a real genius. Soon, President Snow stepped out and gave a very short speech. We are once again carried off back into the room we began in. As we get off the chariot, Riverta, Elusive, Wiress and Beetee are waiting for us.

"Wonderful jobs, dears! You were great!" Elusive said happily.

"Thanks, but I don't think we were the star of this show," I said, looking at 12.

"Yes, they were very good, synthetic fire is a good idea. Gives them some flair," Beetee chipped in.

Felicity and I nod and we all head for the elevator that leads us to our apartment on the third floor. It's classy with a color theme of purple and white; looks like Elusive designed it. We ate dinner a bit later and everyone heads off to bed. As I walked to my room, I passed Wiress.

"Hi, Wiress," I said sleepily as I pass.

I heard Wiress stop walking and then felt a tap on my shoulder, I turn. Wiress is facing me, smiling as she usually does.

"What's wrong Wiress? Are you okay?"

She nodded and then started to speak,

"Fire will save us all," she stated.

I was a bit confused at this, 'Fire will save us?' what does that mean? Before I could ask, she walked off to her room and I was left standing there all alone. I decided to dismiss it; I believed that she wasn't completely sane. As I layed in my bed though, I thought back to my dream about the fire fox, was that a sign? Then I thought back to the chariot ride, 12 was on fire, could 12 be what she was talking about?

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 **End chapter 3! Tune in next time for chapter 4, coming soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! We finally meet some new friends in this chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!**

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 **Chapter four: You're so weird**

Today is training, we were rushed there in the morning; only having time to eat and get ready. The training area is a huge dark room with different sections for fight training and survival training. Felicity and I joined the other tributes that were already there. The others came in time and we began. The head trainer gave some tips and rules for the center, stuff I already learned from Beetee. After that, were off on our own, I wander around for a while and try different things. I successfully made a fire, almost killed myself trying to across some sort of monkey bars, and found out that I'm handy with a sword. As I finish with the sword, I heard someone behind me,

"You're not bad with that sword."

I jumped at the unfamiliar voice and turned around. I'm happily surprised to see the red headed boy from district 4. He had a cocky smile on his face and a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Hey," I said simply.

He laughed at me, "Hey, what's up? I'm Niles, what's your name?"

"I'm Emmitt, nice to meet you."

We shook hands and walked around together, talking about our districts.

"So, what's district 3 like? Are you all mega tech nerds?" Niles asked me.

I laugh, Niles, I could tell, likes to mess with his friends and tease them, but not in the annoying and cold way that Felicity does, it's friendly and warm and clearly meant as jokes. I could also tell that he's a bit full of himself and over-confident; it's actually really funny how he glorifies himself so much.

"Well, not everyone, but I am. I know how to rewire circuits and repair almost everything. I can also build a lot of things from scratch," I said, glad that I finally had someone nice to talk to.

"Wow, you are a total nerd!" he joked.

I laugh at him, "Well, you're from district 4, is everyone there part fish?"

"Hey, being part fish I awesome! Don't pick on someone for being different!" he said in mock hurt. He pouted as hard as he can and pulled pretty impressive puppy eyes. I, seeing this as a challenge, pulled off the same face.

One look at each other and we're laughing our asses off. It feels good to laugh after so long. After we calm down, Niles speaks up again,

"You're so weird!"

"You're weird!" I said back, still laughing.

"We're both weird, Emmitt," he said matter-o-factly.

Niles and I try more activities before lunch, I'm not surprised to find out he's good with a spear since he's a fisher. He got the brilliant idea to fight me in a training session to prove how great he was. I won.

"You clearly cheated," he said while getting up after I knocked him over.

"What? Upset you lost to a mega tech nerd?" I asked, feeling confident for once.

"Like I said, you clearly cheated, so I'll take that win." We laughed about it for a while as lunch started.

We sat together and joked more; I'm actually enjoying myself. I notice out of the corner of my eye that Felicity was sitting all alone.

"What's up Emmitt?" Niles asked, taking notice of Felicity, "Who's that?"

"That's Felicity, she's from my district."

"Oh… do you want her to sit with us?" he asked reluctantly.

I shut down the offer quickly. Niles grinned wickedly.

"Why, is like a complete bitch or something?"

I looked at Felicity and then back at Niles,

"Well, umm, yeah she is."

We both laugh again. Niles then gets up and says,

"I bet she would love to hear that!"

Niles broke out into a run across the training area, me following behind him. I catch up with him and tackle him to the ground. As I do, I bump into someone else, knocking them over.

"Ah, I'm so sorry I was chasing my friend-"

I stopped mid-sentence as I see who I'm faced with, the thing from my dream,

"FOX!"

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 **Cliffhanger! Not really, I'm sure you guys know who he met ;) See you in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, everyone! New chapter! Things start rolling now! Hope you like it!**

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 **Chapter five: Smooth**

"What? What fox?" a female voice asked.

"Whoa, Emmitt, I didn't know you were so forward, but I think the term is foxy, not fox," Niles teased me.

I glared at him and began to explain myself, "No, I'm sorry. I thought you were a-"

I stopped again, as I see that person I bumped into clearly. I stood in front of the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on. Instantly, I fell in love, no doubt about it. She's taller than me, had beautiful orange hair, and vibrant green eyes. She smiled down at me.

"That's okay, my name's Finch and this is Rue,"

A small girl popped out from behind her. It surprised me and Niles slightly, but she smiled at me and waved at us; I waved back politely.

"What are your names?" Finch asked.

Niles spoke up before I could, "I'm Niles and this is my good friend, introduce yourself,"

He pushed me forward towards the girls. I then found it extremely hard to for complete sentences. My throat seemed to have gone totally dry and I my palms started to sweat.

"I-I'm, uhhh, well y-you see. I um, I, h-hi,"

Finch and Rue stared at me and started to giggle a bit. Niles patted my back,

"Smooth."

I pushed him away and collected my thoughts. Talking was not difficult, it's simple. I attempt to try to introduce myself again.

"Sorry, m-my name is Emmitt, nice to meet you, Finch and Rue," I said, topping it off with a huge smile.

"Look, you spoke to her! Good job, buddy!" Niles said, applauding me.

I shot another glare at him and turned back to Finch and Rue, still grinning like an idiot.

"Well Emmitt, Niles, I hope we can talk again later," Finch said happily, "Rue and I have to get back to training, bye!"

She and Rue walked off, leaving me and Niles alone.

"Bye Rue! Bye Foxface!" Niles shouted.

"Foxface?" I asked curiously.

"Yup, that's your girlfriend's new nickname!" he poked my arm.

"G-girlfriend! She's not my girlfriend! And that's a rather rude nickname, don't you think?" I said, slapping his hand away.

"No, no, no, buddy. That's not being rude, that's being clever!"

I chuckled, "Buddy, huh? Have we reached that stage yet?" I asked, amused.

"You kidding? Dude, you and me are making it to the final two!" he said cockely.

"Final two? What happens when we get there?Are you gonna fish me to death?" I laughed, though I was slightly scared of his answer. Was he setting me up? Niles seemed smart, perhaps he's really playing me to get me to trust him.

"No, by then, you'll be so overwhelmed by my sheer awesomeness that you'll just die of embarrassment," he joked.

I laughed half heartedly, not entirely satisfied with his answer. Niles didn't say anything, but I knew that he knew that I didn't find it all that funny. Niles shrugged it off,

"Come on, let's go climb some nets," he said in attempts to brighten the mood. I went along with it.

"Okay, you'll be a flying fish!" I said jokingly.

"Hell yeah. I'll be the best flying fish this area has ever seen too!" he said, his confidence peaking once again.

We walked towards the training area; my mind soon turns from Niles and climbing nets to Finch. I couldn't help but blush, she was so beautiful. I hoped I could see her again soon.

 **##################################**

After training ended I said goodbye to Niles and was taken back to the apartment. Night had fallen and I was pretty hungry. I decided to freshen up a bit before dinner, as I showered I let my mind wander back to Finch. I felt myself blush again, God. Why did I have to fall in love _now_? Was it a cruel joke? Most likely. I shook the thoughts out of my head and dried off. I got dressed in casual wear and headed down for dinner. Everyone else was already eating.

"There you are! How was training, dear?" Riverta asked.

I grinned, "Honestly, not bad at all. I learned I'm good with a sword and I met some other tributes."

Riverta clapped, clearly happy and continued to ask me questions, "Who did you meet? The tributes from 1 and 2?"

I gulped nervously, "N-no, I met the boy from 4 and the girls from 5 and 11."

Riverta's smile got slightly smaller, but Beetee grinned,

"Good choices, 4 are good fighters and quick and that girl from 5 looks very intelligent. What is she good at?"

Now, I wasn't proud to admit it, but for the rest of training that day I watched Finch and Rue like a hawk, mainly Finch. They were mostly in the survival training part of the center. They were making fires, going over plants and berries, pointing out which ones were harmful to eat and which ones were okay. The thing that amazed me most was their stealth and swiftness, Rue even took the sword from the district 2 boy. Niles caught me a few times looking at them; he teased me and called me a creep, but he admitted that their skills were impressive. I was going to tell them about her amazing talents, but Felicity's look stopped me. She was listening closely, and that made me wary of her intentions with the knowledge I was going to give.

"She's got good survival skills, but that's about it." I lied. Felicity's brow furrowed, she knew I was lying.

"Then she'll be easy to pick off in that games for us, we can take out that district 4 boy out as well," she said coldly.

I stopped eating, the thought of killing Niles and Finch sickened me; thank god she didn't mention Rue. I wanted to scream at her, tell her not to touch them or I'd kill her, but I bit my tongue and ignored her.

"What about you, Felicity? Did you meet anyone?" Beetee asked.

"The boy from 6," she said simply.

That surprised me. I didn't see Felicity with anyone, grant it I wasn't paying that much attention to her. I thought about asking her what he was like, but I deemed it a bad idea; she wouldn't tell me anyway.

Dinner ended and I decided to turn in for the night. I figured the sooner I slept, the sooner I'd get to see Niles, Rue and Finch. I smiled as I thought of them as I got ready for bed.

"You look happy, son. What's on your mind?" Beetee walked in.

"My friends," I grinned cheerfully. Beetee smiled back at me.

"Back home, I'm guessing."

"No, the one's I met today!" I said almost immediately.

Beetee looked surprised; that put me off. Was I not suppose to make friends? Were they even my friends? The thoughts of Niles joking about me dying came back to me. Was he really my friend? Was Rue as innocent as she seemed? Was Finch? My face must have dropped because Beetee spoke up.

"They don't have cruel intentions, Emmitt," he reassured me.

I looked up at him, "How did you know?"

"I've gotten rather good at reading others. I know you're worried about getting backstabbed, but I know that the people you've met are kind...even if some are rather full of themselves," he shot me a wink.

I smiled again, feeling better. I yawned, sleep creeping into my eyes. Beetee patted my shoulder,

"Get some sleep, you have more training tomorrow and you need all the rest you can get, son."

I nodded and walked to my room, flopping onto the bed.

Sleep came easily for once; dreams of my new found friends came of us laughing and enjoying life in another world, one with no Capital or hunger games. Finch was the most vivid, laughing and smiling. Her green eyes stared into mine as I leaned in to…to.

* * *

 **Aww! So cute! Emmitt's in love! Next chapter coming soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, everyone! New chapter! I hope you guys like it!**

* * *

 **Chapter six: Better than the beast**

"Emmitt, wake up!"

My eyes snapped open to the familiar face to Felicity, great. I groaned as I slowly got up, I glanced up at my partner, who was scowling down at me.

"Couldn't have you been a little less loud? You probably woke up 12 too," I grumbled, agitated that she interrupted my dream.

"Get over it. Time for breakfast, loser," she spat out at me.

I restrained myself from snapping back at her and got up. At breakfast, Beetee was explaining how to get more sponsors until a knock at the door stopped him. I was thoroughly confused at this, who would come here? So early as well. As the voice behind the door began to speak, I was so overjoyed that I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, Emmitt! You in there? Let's go, I want to take you on again because you cheated yesterday!"

Then, without warning, Niles slammed the door open and strolled his way in. He spotted me and ran up, grabbing my arm and pulling,

"Let's go, geek!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going!" I said happily. I couldn't believe Niles went out of his way to come and get me. Beetee and Riverta laughed, most likely happy to see that I was enjoying myself.

"Well hurry up! The girls are waiting for us!" he gives my arm another tug.

"Whoa wait, what girls?" I asked, yanking my arm away. His smirk widened and turned to face me.

"Well, on my way down here, I bumped into Finch and Rue,"

'Oh god' my heart skipped a beat at the mention of Finch.

"and I invited them to train with us, I thought they could teach us a thing or two."

He started his way out the door, me following behind when Felicity spoke, "Hold on! I'm not ready to go!"

Niles and I turned, "So?" he asked. She looked at him with her same agitated expression,

"Well, if we're going to the training center I-"

"Hold on, girly, _we?_ As in Emmitt, me and you?" Felicity finally met her match.

"Well duh!" she said clearly angry.

"Ha! There is no 'duh'! Emmitt and I are going down to meet Finch and Rue and you're not coming with us!" he said crossing his arms.

She scoffed in disbelief as Niles mocked a scoff after her, I was also finding it a bit unbelievable. I stared at him, absolutely mystified. He turned to me and grinned,

"That's how you take care of a pest! Let's go." He sauntered out the door like nothing happened. I looked at Felicity; she stared at me with an expecting look. Did she want me to let her come with us? Either way, I left to catch up with Niles.

#########################

Finch and Rue were waiting for us when we arrived, Finch smiled at us and I felt my heart melt.

"Hey you two! What's up?" she asked.

"Oh nothing much, Foxface. Hey, are you two are going to teach us about plants and stealth today right?"

Rue smiled, "Of course we are! You do want to learn, right Emmitt?"

Finch and Niles turned to me, "Yeah, I sure do."

So we wasted no time learning about plants; Finch taught me while Rue taught Niles. As she showed me which plants did what, we learned a bit more about each other; her full name was Finch Crossly. She worked in her father's garden shop back at home and she had two younger sisters. Her mother had died in an accident at the nuclear plant back when she was four years old. It may sound strange, but I felt closer to her knowing that one her parent's died too, like I understood her pain.

"So, are you going to teach us to sneak around?" I asked.

Finch looked up at me, "Do you want to learn?"

"Yeah, what good is always being out in the open?"

She smiled and got up. She went over to Rue and Niles to tell them that we were going to start the next part of our training.

"Now, sneaking is no easy task. It's best done in trees so you have be good at moving around in them, which I hate to say it, but you two probably aren't and you have to be absolutely hidden and quiet." Rue explained.

It amazed me how mature Rue was, how humble and quiet, unlike Niles. She was also pretty accurate with her words, we sucked. We were loud and had trouble moving through trees and very visible. The only good thing that came out of it was for Finch and Rue, who were laughing all the way through the session.

"It's not funny!" Niles growled.

"It kinda is," Finch said through giggles.

"Well, maybe what we lack in stealth, we make up for in combat," I said.

Niles thought for a moment and smirked. "Your right! Emmitt, why don't you try to go up against another tribute in the combat center?"

I froze. Yes, I beat Niles and I wasn't that bad with a sword, but I didn't want to fight anyone else, not now, not ever. I was about to reject his offer, but Rue spoke first,

"You're good in combat? Good, Finch and I only have our wits, we're not good at fighting."

I felt a lump in my throat, I couldn't let them down; if Niles and I had to be the brawn than that's how it had to be.

"So, Emmitt, wanna go?" Niles asked, I looked at Finch who stared back.

"Yeah, let's go."

When a spot opened up for combat, I grabbed a sword and took my place on one side of the small fighting area. Niles, Finch and Rue stood behind me and cheered me on for moral support. I grinned, happy that they were supporting me. Back home in 3, I had friends, but I never really connected with them, not like my buddies here.

"Emmitt, you will face off against Cato," the trainer said.

' _Okay, but who's Cato_?' I thought. My question was answered when the massive boy from 2 stepped up, sword in hand. Behind him was the boy and girl from 1 and his tribute partner,

"Get him, Cato!" his partner cheered.

He gave her a thumbs up and took his stance. I looked back at my friends who were waving for me to come back and run. They looked horrified.

"Come on, Emmitt, let's go and make more snares! It'll be fun and less lethal!" Niles called, trying to hide the fact he was terrified.

"Yeah, come on, Emmitt," Finch followed.

I gulped and turned to them with the intention of leaving until the girl from one began to taunt me,

"What's wrong, 3? Scared of us? Ha! You should be! Why don't you go run away and fiddle with wires!"

I stopped. No, I wasn't going to do that. I wasn't going to run. Running would mean we're weak and scared, but we're not. I'm not. I faced Cato and raised my sword.

"Emmitt! What are you doing, you're gonna die!" Niles yelled from behind.

This made that careers laugh. Cato spoke up finally,

"Looks like your friends have a lot of confidence in you, 'Emmitt'. How about you work with us instead, we need brains."

I blinked in shock. Did he just offer me a spot with them? I can feel my buddies' eyes staring at me. I didn't waver at his offer.

"I'm sure you do need brains. You obviously have none right now," I said coldly.

Cato's brow furrowed in anger and lunged. I dodged the strike, barley. He kept swing at me and I kept dodging. Not long into the fight, I noticed something; while he's strong and a lot bigger than me, he was slow and not very agile.

' _I have an advantage over him! I'm smaller and faster!_ '

With that in mind, after he swung, I rolled under him. He must have been pretty shocked, because he froze in place for a second. That gave me the opportunity to slam the handle of my sword into his back; he fell instantly. If he wasn't angry before, he was now, his legs swiped into mine and knocked me over. He got up and struck, but I was still quicker. I slid behind him once more and got up. He was prepared this time, he did a full circle swipe. I had barely dodged it.

"Get him, Cato! You've dealt with bigger and tougher opponents!" His partner yelled.

' _but you've never dealt with a smaller and quicker one._ ' I grinned.

He rushed at me, fully exposed. I don't know how I did it but, I had rush forward too and jumped. My right foot landed on his chest and that allowed me to back flip off his chest and kick him directly in the face. I heard my friends gasp at the stunt as Cato fell. His sword landed near him. He reached for it, but my foot held in in place as I pointed my sword at his chest.

"You lose," I said keeping my expression blank.

He scowled and got up, "You got real lucky, 3." He walked over to the careers, who were trying to make him feel better with praise, his district partner being the only one having any luck, getting him so smile a bit.

I turned to my three friends who were amazed and dumbstruck.

"Dude, that was freaking amazing!" Niles shouted gleefully, "You beat the most threatening tribute in the game!"

"Congratulations, Emmitt! You were unstoppable!" Rue praised.

"You were amazing, great job," Finch said kindly.

I blushed at her praise. I felt so confident in my ability to win these games now, if I can beat Cato, I can beat anyone! Lunch started after the fight with Cato. Niles had been going around, boasting to anyone who would listen about how his best friend just kicked Cato's ass. That surprised me.

"Best friend? Only yesterday we were buddies," I pointed out.

Niles smirked at me, "That was yesterday, but today, I think we've achieved best friends!"

I smiled as I ignored all the stares I was getting from the tributes. Unfortunately, the careers who were glaring daggers at me. I knew that I had made myself a huge target, but I ignored them too as best I could. During the end of the training session, I was showing Finch and Rue how to use a snare, but I kept noticing Rue looking off to her left.

"Something bothering you, Rue?" I asked.

She pointed to a certain district 12 tribute, the one who volunteered for her younger sister. What was her name again? Catnip? I couldn't remember.

"I like her, she's strong and determined to win,"

"She's brave to," Niles chipped, "I bet if the careers don't catch her, she'll win."

Though I hated to admit it, she probably will.

#####################################

The four of us walked out of the center, chatting about our districts and other small things.

"Well, I have to head home. Tomorrow is the last day of training and I have to get some sleep in," Finch said, stretching out her back.

"I should head back too, Thresh gets worried real easily about me," Rue said.

The girls began to walk off, but Niles interjected,

"Hold it you two! Before you go, I have an idea!" he said, a grin plastered on his face.

"What is it, Niles?" I asked.

"We should form our own alliance!" he said gleefully.

We stared at him, "Just...the four of us?" Finch asked.

"Well duh! Think about it, we have the perfect team! Emmitt is the tough leader guy, Finch is the swift stalker, Rue is the plant expert and I'm the smart fisherman guy!"

Rue laughed, "That sounds like fun! I'm in!"

"I knew I could count on you Rue! Finch, Emmitt?"

Finch and I stared at each other, I knew she was thinking the same thing I was.

"That does sound great, but… what happen if we all make it to the end? Like we'll be the final four. Then what?" She asked.

Niles didn't respond, I guess he didn't think of that. I smiled,

"We'll worry about that when we get there." Finch nodded in agreement.

"So are doing this or what?" Niles asked. I nodded and so did Finch.

"We sure are, but we need rules," I said seriously, "first and foremost, no backstabbing. The instant you turn, you're out." They nodded in agreement.

"Also, no withholding information. We should all know the same things." Finch spoke; Rue followed, "Yeah, and no taking supplies we have without saying so. Especially food since it's going to be scarce."

Niles nodded, "As a side note, all plans and ideas must be discussed beforehand, unless it is an absolute necessary impulsive decision to save one of us or to get away for someone else."

"One more final thing," I said. The three looked at me, "We must promise to not harm each other under any circumstance, even if we all make it to the end,"

Rue smiled, "I like that rule, not even the game makers can make us hurt each other!"

Niles grinned, "Look at us! We're going to be the first young kids to ever win the Hunger games!"

We laughed and agreed to the conditions. I was ecstatic, a solid and good alliance. As we parted ways, I felt the happiest I have felt in a long, long time.

* * *

 **Aw! Such happy vibes! leave a comment and I'll see you guys soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! Another day, another chapter update! Hope you guys like it!**

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 **Chapter Seven: Not one of us**

I was grinning like an idiot when I went into our apartment. Riverta was sitting on the couch as I passed her,

"Oh Emmitt! You look very happy, what happened?" she asked excitedly.

My smile got bigger, "I'll tell you all about it at dinner, I promise!"

She clapped excitedly and rushed to get Beetee and Wiress. Felicity was back just in time for dinner, she sat next to me.

"Thanks for leaving me there," she said coldly. I rolled my eyes. I wished I could have dinner with Finch, Niles and Rue instead of her. It be a lot more enjoyable and less degrading.

"So, what's the good news, Emmitt?" Riverta asked.

Felicity looked at me, clearly confused.

"What good news?" she asked.

I smiled, "I made an alliance today."

Riverta squealed in delight, Wiress clapped and Beetee smiled back at me, "With who?"

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out my buddies names and districts. Felicity scowled at me,

"Them? Whatever, it's a good tactic, get them to trust you then we'll kill them."

That was the last straw. I felt rage bubbling up inside me and I couldn't contain it any longer, "No!" I shouted, standing abruptly.

Felicity was taken aback at this.

"Emmitt, are you okay?" Beetee asked.

"Yeah," Felicity continued, "what's your problem?"

"My problem is _you_! You're a complete nightmare to be around, you're so bitchy all the time! You are never polite or think about others and then after all that, you think I'm going to pair up with you? Not a chance! You are also under the impression that I would even think about hurting my friends!"

"They are not your friends!" she screamed back.

"What? Do you think you're my friend? No way in hell, Felicity! You are not one of us and I'm not going to save you in the arena! It's me, Niles, Finch and Rue, and that's it! I trust them, and you better not lay a finger on any one of them!"

We held our gaze for a minute or so, I could see the betrayal in her eyes, she actually thought I was going to help her. Did I feel bad? Yes, very much so, but it was all true. She fled off to her room short after my outburst. I looked at Beetee and Wiress, Beetee looked vacant and Wiress was staring after Felicity sadly.

"Can I be excused," I said in a barely audible whisper.

"Of course you may," Beetee allowed.

I walked slowly to my room and shut the door behind me. I needed fresh air. I walked over to the balcony and pushed the doors open. Cool night air hit my skin sending shivers down my spine. I stood on the edge of the balcony, staring at the city intensely. I let my mind wander, my home, my mother, the games, my inevitable death. I stared down at the ground below.

' _It would be so easy to jump. To die right now."_ I stuck my hand out. I hit something solid while reaching out. An invisible force field; they thought of everything. I sighed softly, dying early is not an option apparently. I continued to ponder about suicide in the Hunger games and sure as hell, there were a few. I remembered that one year two district partners stepped off the pedestal early. From the interviews they stated they were best friends and by some unlucky chance they were both picked. I'm guessing they wanted to make sure they were together and since there's only one winner…

"This sucks…" I grumbled.

Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind. I gasped and whipped my head around. To my surprise and relief, I was face to face with Niles.

"Hi, dude! What're you doing out here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing!" I laughed.

Niles flashed his signature smile at me,

"We got bored and decided to pay you a visit pal!" he said, eyes bright with amusement.

My brow furrowed in confusion,

"We? Who's we?" I asked.

"Emmitt! Up here!" the familiar voice of Rue called.

I looked up to see the wispy, dark skinned girl climbing down on a rope, followed by the the red headed beauty herself, Finch. I felt my face heat up.

"Hello, ladies. Lovely night, huh?" I asked cheerfully.

Finch laughed as she landed gracefully on the balcony,

"Indeed it is, good sir!" she joked.

I grinned at her and looked back out at the Capital. The tall buildings were illuminated by streetlights and other decorative lighting. It looked beautiful, but ominous at the same time. I let my face drop once again. Finch noticed my distress.

"You okay?" she whispered and gently put a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded, "Yeah, this just sucks though."

She nodded back in agreement. We looked out at the city together as Rue and Niles joked around behind us. I let my eyes wander over to Finch's face. She looked perfect; not a single thing about her was wrong. Feeling confident, I inched closer to her. She noticed that and mimicked my movement. We were shoulder to shoulder now.

"You know," she began, "Even if I don't make it in the arena, I'm so happy I met you," she said, her eyes glued to the city.

I hummed in response at first, but perked up a second later.

"Me?"

"Huh?" she turned her head to look at me.

"You're glad you met me?" I blushed; she did the same.

"Well, um, yes. I'm happy I met Niles and Rue too, of course…" she broke eye contact with me.

I smiled and chuckled,

"Whatever you say, Finch."

"It's freezing! Let's go inside!" Niles voice broke the little moment me and Finch had.

I jumped at his voice. I had forgotten Rue and Niles were there. Finch looked at him and smiled.

"Good idea. You don't mind, do you Emmitt?" she asked.

"Not at all. I'll be nice having company that's not rude to me," I said, my eyes pointed upwards.

"Your partner still bothering you?" Niles asked, clearly annoyed by the information.

I nodded, stuffing my hands into my pockets.

"Yeah, that's why I came out here. She really did it tonight."

"What she say?" Rue asked.

I pondered for a moment whether I should tell them or not. I almost didn't...but them I remember what we had said earlier. ' _No withholding any information."_

"Felicity threatened you guys, under the impression that I'd team up with her and pick you guys off," I said.

Finch and Rue gasped and Niles fumed,

"That bitch! How dare she! I'm gonna go and really show her what we're made of!"

Niles was about to run inside, but Finch stopped him,

"Calm down. We can save that for the arena. Emmitt said she was under the impression of teaming up; they's no way she'd do it alone."

Niles seemed to calm down at this. He nodded and hugged his body, obviously cold. Rue

walked towards my room and tugged on Nile's sleeve,

"Let's go in," she said simply.

We went inside, escaping the cold night. Inside, we all piled onto my bed; we talked, joked, and

straigized. An hour into our conversation, Rue fell asleep.

"Should I get Beetee to carry her up to her apartment?" I asked.

Niles shook his head, "No, why should you? We can all just crash here for the night."

I laughed and let them stay. Finch soon fell asleep too; she seemed to glow in the moonlight, she looked so peaceful and content in her sleep. I couldn't help but stare at her, even if Niles laughed. I slowly laid next to her, not wanting to wake her up. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but Niles started to speak,

"Hey, buddy?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah?" I chuckled.

"What's it like to be in love?"

My eyes snapped open. I looked at him; he was dead serious. His usual cocky attitude was nowhere in sight. He was looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer.

"Well," I began, uncertain of how to answer him, "It's strange...in a good way. When you're around someone you love, everything feels right, even in the face of the death. It's warm and fuzzy, but also makes you feel nervous. At least that's how I feel around Finch," I trailed off.

Niles nodded his head, looking somewhat satisfied. I decided to add on,

"If anything, I just want to be with her. Like, I always want her next to me. I'll never get bored or annoyed by her company," I looked at Finch's softly snoring frame, "That's what love feels like."

Niles smiled softly. He looked out the glass doors of the balcony; he seemed vacant.

"Why did you ask?" I said curiously.

Niles' eyes didn't move. "I wanted to know what love felt like. I'll never get to feel it myself," he said, his voice cracking.

In that moment, I remembered something. He was only 12 years old; he was a little kid. He may have acted older than he was, but he was still a kid. He was scared, just like me.

"Niles, I'm not going to hurt you in that arena you know."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, bud," he said softly.

"I'm not," I smiled, "Remember that rules? I'm gonna take care of you guys."

Niles finally looked at me; he grinned. I watched him snuggle up next to Rue and fall asleep. I

sighed and stared at the ceiling; a strange feeling coming over me. A sudden jolt of protection and determination spread through me. Then and there, as I fell asleep, I vowed to protect my friends, no matter what happened, I'd be there for them.

* * *

 **Aww! So cute! What do you guys think? Leave a comment and I'll see you soon!**


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